


names are secrets, meant to be kept

by hawkguy (orphan_account)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, HOW MANY BUCKY REFERENCES CAN YOU SPOT, Spiderhawk babies, natalia is the biggest snarkbucket
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 08:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1504364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/hawkguy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mama had always said that the number of names that one possessed was equivalent to the amount of power they held, because power lies in how many more cards one holds in comparison to their opponents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	names are secrets, meant to be kept

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know, it's always been a particular headcanon of mine that Clint and Natasha would name their first daughter Natalia, just to give the name a new context. A healing context, essentially. Incidentally, when thinking, Sofia also came up, but a piece that I wrote with Clint jokingly saying that they owe so much to Hill and Coulson that they might as well name their children after them took the cake instead.
> 
> James is obvious, as is Phillip.
> 
> I don't know, I just like kid fics occasionally.

James Philip Barton-Romanov, named for two men who saved the world, was born on the night before Halloween to Clinton Francis Barton and Natasha Alianovna Romanova, two people with dreadfully conspicuous names and even more conspicuous faces, especially given the fact that their work uniforms were currently on sale in child and adult sizes alike. 

His older sister, Natalia Maria Barton-Romanov, named for two women who would tear down the world for what they believed in, is equally striking, and far more dangerous than he. None in their right minds would consider such a small boy dangerous, but James was far more powerful than he let on. 

Mama had always said that the number of names that one possessed was equivalent to the amount of power they held, because power lies in how many more cards one holds in comparison to their opponents. 

So Natalia grew up being called “Natalie” and “Natka” and “Maria” and eventually settled on “Talia”, and James was called everything from “Jay” to “Philly Cheesesteak” (courtesy of Uncle Tony) to “Yakov”, which always seems to come from either Mama or the man that Uncle Steve hangs around with, with the shiny arm marked by flecks of red paint that look like they used to be a star.

“Yakov?” Mama called one day, as the adults were pulling on gear as quickly as they could, Daddy stringing his bow with a sense of urgency that James, even at this age, knew was synonymous with an impending battle. “Come here.”

“Da.” He toddled over, staying steady to the best of his ability. “Mama fight?”

“I will be safe. You will be too, James.” She nodded. She rarely called him James, which was something he could remember well even then, seeking to make her children proud of their heritage rather than hide it behind the smoke and mirrors that her very existence seemed based in.

Natalia strolled in leisurely, rolling her shoulders and smiling ruefully as they cracked. Already a fan of Daddy’s tendency to spend ridiculously long hours on the range, she’d likely snuck out last night for a go or two at the moving targets that she wasn’t supposed to be playing with yet, but did anyway. “Going out for a spin? The old folks’ home’s been missing you.”

Daddy laughed, long and loud, even as Uncle Tony boomed over the speakers that he had been waiting for nearly three and a half minutes now, and that the others had best get on the jet if they knew what was good for them. 

“Break a leg, Natasha.” Daddy said. 

“Keep your eyes on the target, Clint.” Mama said.

And James learned the power of names even more in that moment, because, as Mama always said, trusting others with a vital part of yourself is a miracle, and one that should not by any means be overlooked.


End file.
